Roku, Walmart, Palantir, and Other Stocks to Watch This Week

The economic-data calendar this week includes Wednesday’s January retail sales from the Census Bureau. Forecasts are for a 1.3% rise from December, when consumer spending slipped 0.7%. The Bureau of Labor Statistics also reports the producer price index for January on Wednesday. On average, economists expect a 0.4% month-over-month rise, or 0.2% when excluding volatile food and energy components.

Also Wednesday, the Federal Open Market Committee will release the minutes from its late-January meeting. And on Friday, 

IHS Markit

will publish its Manufacturing and Services Purchasing Managers’ indexes for February. 

Monday 2/15

Stock and bond markets are closed in observance of Presidents Day.

Tuesday 2/16

Agilent Technologies,

CVS Health, Devon Energy,

Ecolab,

Occidental Petroleum, Palantir Technologies, Vornado Realty Trust, and

Zoetis

release earnings.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York releases its Empire State Manufacturing Survey for February. Consensus estimate is for an eight reading, higher than January’s 3.5 figure. January’s reading was the lowest since June, as the region’s manufacturing sector is still growing, but at a sluggish rate.

Wednesday 2/17

The Census Bureau reports retail sales data for January. Expectations are for a 1.3% month-over-month rise in consumer spending after a 0.7% decline in December. Excluding autos, sales are seen gaining 1.4%.

Analog Devices, Baidu,

Garmin,

Henry Schein,

Hilton Worldwide Holdings,

Pioneer Natural Resources,

Synopsys,

Shopify, and

Twilio

announce quarterly results.

The Federal Open Market Committee releases the minutes from its late-January monetary-policy meeting.

The National Association of Home Builders releases its NAHB/ Wells Fargo Housing Market Index for February. Economists forecast an 82 reading, one point lower than January’s 83 figure. The index is down slightly from its all-time high of 90 set in November. Demand remains strong in the housing market, but home builders are concerned about rising material costs, especially lumber prices, which have risen more than threefold since last April.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the producer price index for January. Expectations are for a 0.4% month-over-month rise, just a tick above December’s gain. The core PPI, which exclude volatile food and energy prices, is seen gaining 0.2%, roughly even with the December data.

Thursday 2/18

Applied Materials, Cabot Oil & Gas, LKQ, Marriott International, Newmont, Roku,

Southern Co.

, Walmart, and

Waste Management

report earnings.

The Census Bureau reports new-residential-construction data for January. Economists forecast a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.65 million housing starts, just below the December’s 1.67 million. The December figure was the highest annual rate of housing starts since the 2006-07 housing market bubble.

Friday 2/19

Deere hosts a conference call to discuss quarterly results.

IHS Markit reports both its Manufacturing and Services Purchasing Managers’ indexes for February. Consensus estimates are for a 59 reading for the Manufacturing PMI and a 57.8 reading for the Services PMI. Both figures are about even with the January data.

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